In an interview, Paul Geddes, CEO of Direct Line outlines his thoughts on how branding has change... more In an interview, Paul Geddes, CEO of Direct Line outlines his thoughts on how branding has changed since he started his career in fast moving consumer goods, at Procter and Gamble. The purpose of the article is to present a leading practitioner’s views and discuss these in relation to theory and practice. Paul outlines his three Cs of brands which are Competence, Convenience and Connectivity with customers. Competence is the starting point. Customers will not do business with a brand that is not competent at what it does. Convenience is about ease of access. The final criterion is Connection. The brands that customers have affinity with, the brands you have empathy with, the brands that you trust or like or love. The article discusses these three C’s and then goes on to consider some issues for research and practice, in relation to branding, in the interactive world of digital communications.
Universities, across the globe, are increasingly judged on social and economic impact. An importa... more Universities, across the globe, are increasingly judged on social and economic impact. An important initiative in the UK is the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014, which assessed the wider impact of university research. The Impact Case Studies, produced for REF2014, provide a rich new source of information to explore the wider impact of Business and Management (B&M) research. Each B&M case study, from a structured sample of 194, was read and analysed for this paper. The detailed findings show significant differences between subdisciplines in demonstrating impact and illustrate why some research reaches a wider audience. The findings show a relatively low level of Mode 2 knowledge production, but a wide range of levels and types of engagement with research users across disciplines. The implications of the findings are discussed in relation to building more nuanced theory on modes of knowledge production and in relation to policy and academic practice.
In this paper the authors present an argument for academic marketing to shift away from a purely ... more In this paper the authors present an argument for academic marketing to shift away from a purely positivistic approach to its ‘top journal ’ research and towards a critical realist approach that better accounts for the ontological reality of the discipline. We argue that this debate matters because, at present, ‘top quality ’ research is, wrongly in our view, regarded as that which is based on marketing as a science. However we are not arguing for a radical shift into purely interpretive or social constructionist perspectives. We debate some different areas within the discipline of marketing and conclude that some areas may still respond well to scientific approaches, while others may benefit from a relaxation into interpretive approaches.
This study investigates the drivers of loyalty in the context of market and technological transfo... more This study investigates the drivers of loyalty in the context of market and technological transformation. The focus is the client–marketing agency relationship. In an era of greater competitive intensity, greater pressure to demonstrate a return on investment, and a fragmented communications environment, it is to be expected that client needs, and relationship dynamics, will change. In order to win and maintain client loyalty, it is important that agencies understand client expectations. We propose a mixed method approach to investigate the client perspective. A qualitative first stage will reveal themes and inform scale development, and a quantitative second stage will be used to determine the relative importance of variables in influencing loyalty.
Abstract: The forces of deregulation and technological development have created a highly competit... more Abstract: The forces of deregulation and technological development have created a highly competitive environment in financial services. Despite the quest for business-to-business service efficiency, most financial services companies know that they must not lose sight of the importance of relationship quality. As a result, there is growing interest in key account management (KAM) in these companies. Research on KAM in general is limited and little has been undertaken in financial services. There are several reasons why KAM practice in ...
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to highlight what the authors regard as serious problems with... more PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to highlight what the authors regard as serious problems with the continuing dominance of a “hard science” view of what constitutes “top quality” research, and to present evidence that a “softer” approach will yield work that more closely aligns with the everyday reality of marketing.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use a contrast between the marketing discipline and chemistry to illustrate their concerns about the use of “hard science” in academic marketing. This was supplemented with analyses of academic marketing work already published to illustrate particular points.FindingsThe authors propose that academic marketers need to take a “horses for courses” approach and ground their research in the reality of the discipline. Different areas within the discipline of marketing are debated, and it is concluded that some areas may still respond well to scientific approaches, while others may benefit from a relaxation into interpretive approaches....
Purpose – Although considerable attention in the extant literature has been devoted to knowledge ... more Purpose – Although considerable attention in the extant literature has been devoted to knowledge acquisition and transfer within firms, there is a dearth of research on the effectiveness of outside sources of knowledge for technology-based small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Furthermore, the majority of empirical studies in this area focus on large firms while research on smaller firms is underdeveloped. The aim of this paper is to investigate the impact of the sources of knowledge on the performance of technology manufacturing firms and the implications for higher education institutions (HEIs) providing advice to this sector. Design/methodology/approach – Following interviews with managing directors of manufacturing firms, a number of sources of technical advice were identified. A survey of small and medium-sized UK electronic and engineering firms was then carried out to investigate the relationship between sources of knowledge and performance and also to establish whether there is a relationship between performance and the extent of the advice network. Findings – Significant correlations were found between company age, knowledge source remoteness and company performance. The more remote the source the less effective it is. The stronger the firm's network the more profitable it is likely to be. Practical implications – This has particular implications for universities involved in knowledge transfer, as these institutions are often relatively remote compared with other sources of advice within SME networks. Originality/value – The research adds to our understanding of the role of HEIs and other members of knowledge networks in relation to the achievement of competitive advantage by SMEs.
Disclaimer UWE has obtained warranties from all depositors as to their title in the material depo... more Disclaimer UWE has obtained warranties from all depositors as to their title in the material deposited and as to their right to deposit such material. UWE makes no representation or warranties of commercial utility, title, or fitness for a particular purpose or any other warranty, express or implied in respect of any material deposited. UWE makes no representation that the use of the materials will not infringe any patent, copyright, trademark or other property or proprietary rights. UWE accepts no liability for any infringement of intellectual property rights in any material deposited but will remove such material from public view pending investigation in the event of an allegation of any such infringement.
The literature is highly critical of the businessacademia relationship and there is a lack of ... more The literature is highly critical of the businessacademia relationship and there is a lack of congruence between strategic management research conducted by academics and that used by practitioners. There is also a lack of models of collaborative research and its ...
Hughes, Tim and Grisoni, Louise and O'Regan, Nicholas and Wornham, David (2009) Improving ac... more Hughes, Tim and Grisoni, Louise and O'Regan, Nicholas and Wornham, David (2009) Improving academic/practitioner engagement in marketing: what can we learn from other management disciplines? In: Academy of Marketing Conference, 7th - 9th July, Leeds Metropolitan ...
Despite the continuing debate over the relevance of management research there has been little res... more Despite the continuing debate over the relevance of management research there has been little research into the actual ways in which knowledge passes between academics and practitioners in the management field. There are conflicting views on the size and importance of the problem and more fundamentally there are also differing views on the very nature of knowledge. The research reported in this paper starts to explore the academic/practitioner gap by reviewing the different routes through which management academics engage with practitioners and analyses how far and under what conditions knowledge transfer and two-way knowledge exchange is enabled through each route. The primary research undertaken involved depth interviews with 62 respondents made up of academics, practitioners and other experts with relevant experience in the management field. From this a number of preconditions and conditions necessary for effective engagement are proposed and the implications of creating these ar...
This is an empirical study of co-creation in the context of the relationship between clients and ... more This is an empirical study of co-creation in the context of the relationship between clients and their advertising agencies. This is the first study to conduct dyadic interviews with a number of clients and their agencies in examining the co-creation process. The study highlights the operant resources supplied by the actors involved, outlines the process of resource integration, identifies enablers to co-creation and offers a perspective on reciprocity of value exchange between actors. Implications for practice are put forward, demonstrating the benefits of applying Service-Dominant Logic as a framework for practical analysis of relationships in context.
The creation of wider social and economic impact from academic research is an important policy is... more The creation of wider social and economic impact from academic research is an important policy issue and a priority for BAM. This paper presents a case study of efforts to create practitioner impact from research into the co-creation of marketing communications between agencies and their clients. Following initial dyadic research of clients and their agencies, workshops with agency and client practitioner delegates were conducted. The paper analyses the co-creation of impact between researchers and practitioners, in the case, utilising a framework derived from Service-Dominant Logic. The analysis focusses on choosing a clear impact audience; recognizing the nature of the operant resources supplied by both academics and practitioners; providing a motivating value proposition; creating a situation where resource integration can take place, resulting in resource modification (learning) and positive value realization.
In an interview, Paul Geddes, CEO of Direct Line outlines his thoughts on how branding has change... more In an interview, Paul Geddes, CEO of Direct Line outlines his thoughts on how branding has changed since he started his career in fast moving consumer goods, at Procter and Gamble. The purpose of the article is to present a leading practitioner’s views and discuss these in relation to theory and practice. Paul outlines his three Cs of brands which are Competence, Convenience and Connectivity with customers. Competence is the starting point. Customers will not do business with a brand that is not competent at what it does. Convenience is about ease of access. The final criterion is Connection. The brands that customers have affinity with, the brands you have empathy with, the brands that you trust or like or love. The article discusses these three C’s and then goes on to consider some issues for research and practice, in relation to branding, in the interactive world of digital communications.
Universities, across the globe, are increasingly judged on social and economic impact. An importa... more Universities, across the globe, are increasingly judged on social and economic impact. An important initiative in the UK is the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014, which assessed the wider impact of university research. The Impact Case Studies, produced for REF2014, provide a rich new source of information to explore the wider impact of Business and Management (B&M) research. Each B&M case study, from a structured sample of 194, was read and analysed for this paper. The detailed findings show significant differences between subdisciplines in demonstrating impact and illustrate why some research reaches a wider audience. The findings show a relatively low level of Mode 2 knowledge production, but a wide range of levels and types of engagement with research users across disciplines. The implications of the findings are discussed in relation to building more nuanced theory on modes of knowledge production and in relation to policy and academic practice.
In this paper the authors present an argument for academic marketing to shift away from a purely ... more In this paper the authors present an argument for academic marketing to shift away from a purely positivistic approach to its ‘top journal ’ research and towards a critical realist approach that better accounts for the ontological reality of the discipline. We argue that this debate matters because, at present, ‘top quality ’ research is, wrongly in our view, regarded as that which is based on marketing as a science. However we are not arguing for a radical shift into purely interpretive or social constructionist perspectives. We debate some different areas within the discipline of marketing and conclude that some areas may still respond well to scientific approaches, while others may benefit from a relaxation into interpretive approaches.
This study investigates the drivers of loyalty in the context of market and technological transfo... more This study investigates the drivers of loyalty in the context of market and technological transformation. The focus is the client–marketing agency relationship. In an era of greater competitive intensity, greater pressure to demonstrate a return on investment, and a fragmented communications environment, it is to be expected that client needs, and relationship dynamics, will change. In order to win and maintain client loyalty, it is important that agencies understand client expectations. We propose a mixed method approach to investigate the client perspective. A qualitative first stage will reveal themes and inform scale development, and a quantitative second stage will be used to determine the relative importance of variables in influencing loyalty.
Abstract: The forces of deregulation and technological development have created a highly competit... more Abstract: The forces of deregulation and technological development have created a highly competitive environment in financial services. Despite the quest for business-to-business service efficiency, most financial services companies know that they must not lose sight of the importance of relationship quality. As a result, there is growing interest in key account management (KAM) in these companies. Research on KAM in general is limited and little has been undertaken in financial services. There are several reasons why KAM practice in ...
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to highlight what the authors regard as serious problems with... more PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to highlight what the authors regard as serious problems with the continuing dominance of a “hard science” view of what constitutes “top quality” research, and to present evidence that a “softer” approach will yield work that more closely aligns with the everyday reality of marketing.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use a contrast between the marketing discipline and chemistry to illustrate their concerns about the use of “hard science” in academic marketing. This was supplemented with analyses of academic marketing work already published to illustrate particular points.FindingsThe authors propose that academic marketers need to take a “horses for courses” approach and ground their research in the reality of the discipline. Different areas within the discipline of marketing are debated, and it is concluded that some areas may still respond well to scientific approaches, while others may benefit from a relaxation into interpretive approaches....
Purpose – Although considerable attention in the extant literature has been devoted to knowledge ... more Purpose – Although considerable attention in the extant literature has been devoted to knowledge acquisition and transfer within firms, there is a dearth of research on the effectiveness of outside sources of knowledge for technology-based small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Furthermore, the majority of empirical studies in this area focus on large firms while research on smaller firms is underdeveloped. The aim of this paper is to investigate the impact of the sources of knowledge on the performance of technology manufacturing firms and the implications for higher education institutions (HEIs) providing advice to this sector. Design/methodology/approach – Following interviews with managing directors of manufacturing firms, a number of sources of technical advice were identified. A survey of small and medium-sized UK electronic and engineering firms was then carried out to investigate the relationship between sources of knowledge and performance and also to establish whether there is a relationship between performance and the extent of the advice network. Findings – Significant correlations were found between company age, knowledge source remoteness and company performance. The more remote the source the less effective it is. The stronger the firm's network the more profitable it is likely to be. Practical implications – This has particular implications for universities involved in knowledge transfer, as these institutions are often relatively remote compared with other sources of advice within SME networks. Originality/value – The research adds to our understanding of the role of HEIs and other members of knowledge networks in relation to the achievement of competitive advantage by SMEs.
Disclaimer UWE has obtained warranties from all depositors as to their title in the material depo... more Disclaimer UWE has obtained warranties from all depositors as to their title in the material deposited and as to their right to deposit such material. UWE makes no representation or warranties of commercial utility, title, or fitness for a particular purpose or any other warranty, express or implied in respect of any material deposited. UWE makes no representation that the use of the materials will not infringe any patent, copyright, trademark or other property or proprietary rights. UWE accepts no liability for any infringement of intellectual property rights in any material deposited but will remove such material from public view pending investigation in the event of an allegation of any such infringement.
The literature is highly critical of the businessacademia relationship and there is a lack of ... more The literature is highly critical of the businessacademia relationship and there is a lack of congruence between strategic management research conducted by academics and that used by practitioners. There is also a lack of models of collaborative research and its ...
Hughes, Tim and Grisoni, Louise and O'Regan, Nicholas and Wornham, David (2009) Improving ac... more Hughes, Tim and Grisoni, Louise and O'Regan, Nicholas and Wornham, David (2009) Improving academic/practitioner engagement in marketing: what can we learn from other management disciplines? In: Academy of Marketing Conference, 7th - 9th July, Leeds Metropolitan ...
Despite the continuing debate over the relevance of management research there has been little res... more Despite the continuing debate over the relevance of management research there has been little research into the actual ways in which knowledge passes between academics and practitioners in the management field. There are conflicting views on the size and importance of the problem and more fundamentally there are also differing views on the very nature of knowledge. The research reported in this paper starts to explore the academic/practitioner gap by reviewing the different routes through which management academics engage with practitioners and analyses how far and under what conditions knowledge transfer and two-way knowledge exchange is enabled through each route. The primary research undertaken involved depth interviews with 62 respondents made up of academics, practitioners and other experts with relevant experience in the management field. From this a number of preconditions and conditions necessary for effective engagement are proposed and the implications of creating these ar...
This is an empirical study of co-creation in the context of the relationship between clients and ... more This is an empirical study of co-creation in the context of the relationship between clients and their advertising agencies. This is the first study to conduct dyadic interviews with a number of clients and their agencies in examining the co-creation process. The study highlights the operant resources supplied by the actors involved, outlines the process of resource integration, identifies enablers to co-creation and offers a perspective on reciprocity of value exchange between actors. Implications for practice are put forward, demonstrating the benefits of applying Service-Dominant Logic as a framework for practical analysis of relationships in context.
The creation of wider social and economic impact from academic research is an important policy is... more The creation of wider social and economic impact from academic research is an important policy issue and a priority for BAM. This paper presents a case study of efforts to create practitioner impact from research into the co-creation of marketing communications between agencies and their clients. Following initial dyadic research of clients and their agencies, workshops with agency and client practitioner delegates were conducted. The paper analyses the co-creation of impact between researchers and practitioners, in the case, utilising a framework derived from Service-Dominant Logic. The analysis focusses on choosing a clear impact audience; recognizing the nature of the operant resources supplied by both academics and practitioners; providing a motivating value proposition; creating a situation where resource integration can take place, resulting in resource modification (learning) and positive value realization.
Uploads
Papers by Tim Hughes